4ED03890729CF8608725845B006860E9 Hearing Summary

The committee came back to order.

Representative McCluskie welcomed district representatives to the table to discuss cost of living and size factors. Brett Johnson, Chief Financial Officer, Aurora Public Schools (APS), introduced himself to the committee and discussed the two factors' impact on the APS budget. Scott Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Douglas County School District (DCSD), introduced himself to the committee and gave a brief background of the district. He also discussed how the funding formula impacts different schools in DCSD. He stated that most of the students in the district qualify for reduced lunch, but not free lunch, so including reduced lunch in the at-risk factor would benefit DCSD. Dr. Leslie Nichols, Superintendent, Gunnison Watershed School District (GWSD), introduced herself to the committee and gave the committee a background of the district demographic, which includes Gunnison and Crested Butte. Dr. Nichols stated that she believes that the cost of living factor is necessary in the formulation of the funding formula. She discussed discrepancies in the current formula in calculating actual cost of living factors for each school district. She talked about the personnel factor, and how it is applied to the funding formula.

The panel responded to questions from the committee. The panel discussed each of their districts' mill levy overrides and how that money is used. The panel discussed how much revenue their districts can raise per mill levy override, and how property values in the district impact district budgets, as well as factors preventing mill levy overrides being passed.